


You're a Firework

by Toast_Senpai



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Fireworks, Human Names, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-04
Updated: 2011-07-04
Packaged: 2018-02-10 13:44:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2027259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toast_Senpai/pseuds/Toast_Senpai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would the Fourth of July be without family, friends, and a kiss under the fireworks?</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're a Firework

**Author's Note:**

> Ahead: Firework terminology that I try my best to explain.

"Come on Arthur! I'll show you where I keep the big stuff!"

The British man rolled his eyes and followed his lover to the back of the store. He had agreed to shoot fireworks at this years Forth of July/Alfred’s birthday party after much whining from Alfred that his parties, held specifically for him!, were no fun without the explosives. And since Alfred owned a firework shop, and got cheap supplies from Yao, he decided to let Arthur have a bunch of stuff for free.

The forth was tomorrow. It was already around ten o’clock PM on a Sunday night. Arthur had flown over just yesterday and wasn't prepared for the ninety degree heat. He was instantly tired and a little grumpy and just wanted to go back to Alfred's and sleep.

"Okay Arthur. We definitely need these shells. They have awesome double breaks and triple breaks! You like?"

For a moment, Arthur just stared at the odd looking firework. He knew nothing about them except some sparklers he had done with Alfred and Mathew when they were small. Arthur finally nodded his head, just going along with it. 

Alfred beamed, grabbing a couple brown boxes and several racks of tubes. 

"Shells down... Now we need some cakes!"

Cakes...? Arthur gave the American a confused look. Alfred laughed an led them over to a long shelf.

"Cakes are like shells, only you just have to light one fuse and a whole bunch of cool stuff goes into the air and explodes all in a timed order!"

Arthur eyed the fireworks, seeing how some had bright wrapping while others had animals or other things on them. He was starting to not feel so good about this whole firework business. Alfred was responsible, yes, but did he really know what he was doing?

As Alfred gathered certain cakes and brought them to the front, Arthur trailed behind him. Should he say something? But If he called off the fireworks now Alfred would get upset…

"Hey, Arthur. Is there anything you want in particular? Maybe something for like, Peter and Ravis to do? There’s a whole row of kiddie stuff over there.” Alfred pointed to the right and drew an imaginary line all the way down. 

Arthur sighed and went over to the shelves on the far wall, trying to find something that looked halfway safe. If he didn’t get anything for Peter he would throw a hissy fit. His eyes scanned over the smoke balls, knowing that wouldn’t be a great idea…though the bugs might go away for sometime. Arthur shrugged and grabbed a five minute smoke. A glance to Alfred proved that the other man was going all out, boxing up big cakes and other things Arthur had no idea of. He turned back to the jumping jacks and crackering balls. 

They seemed a little too dangerous. So did the strobes, speed balls, star balls, and rocket fountains. The chickens and roosters looked good, but he checked with Alfred first.

“Those little things? They just screech before pooping out an egg, haha! The kid’s will love them.” 

Arthur took one of each.

Alfred finished putting the last few things he needed into a box before he closed it up and brushed his hands on his pants. He looked over at Arthur and saw that he was staring intently at the sparklers, nostalgia evident on his face. Alfred smiled and thought back to one of the times Arthur had done fireworks with him. It was a nice memory. 

Alfred walked over to his lover and stepped up next to him slowly. Arthur blinked out of his daze. He turned to Alfred and held out the things he had collected. Alfred took them, but didn’t move. His lips twitched into a small smile.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Arthur flicked his eyes to the sparklers before taking a small pack. He held it out to Alfred, but the other man didn’t take it. Instead, he grabbed a bigger box and grinned, shoving it into the bag.  
“I know you’ll want to do some too old man. Six would definitely not be enough.” 

Arthur let his shoulders drop, not able to stop the small smile from gracing his face.

He followed Alfred back to the counter where several boxes were neatly stacked. Alfred put the fireworks Arthur had picked out in a separate bag and tucked them into a box carefully. Arthur stood off to the side, covering his mouth as he yawned. It was already ten thirty, and he really wanted to get some sleep. 

“Alfred, are you almost done?

Arthur watched as Alfred went over to a box on the floor and scooped out about thirty sky lanterns. Then he traveled further down the isle and picked up something that looked like a sword. He took two of those and brought them up to the front.

“Almost forgot the lanterns! Ludwig would have killed me! Oh yea, and these are new this year. The Sword From Hell! Sweet name huh? It lives up to that name too!” 

Arthur really didn’t think it was a good idea to get that sword, especially two. He knew Alfred would give one to Peter. And then Peter would probably chase after Arthur and he would get burned and the whole night would be shit.

“You better be getting those swords for yourself, because if I catch Peter with one-”

“Relax man! I’m just gonna let Kiku and Heracles battle it out! Haha!”

Arthur rubbed his eyes, undecided on how he would approach tomorrow. 

“Okay. Well, it looks like you have everything. Can we please go back home now? Do you want me to be bitchy tomorrow?”

Alfred bagged up the lanterns and swords, laughing.

“Aren’t you always a bitch?”

Arthur scrunched up his face in disapproval. He marched to the door and pulled it open. He stopped when he was outside and poked his head back in. 

“Fine. Since I’m such a bitch see if you get any on your birthday.” Arthur stuck out his tongue and sauntered to Alfred’s old pickup a few feet away. He didn’t get to see Alfred’s eye roll or hear the grumbled “You are such a liar.” Alfred carried the boxes of fireworks to his truck as Arthur proceeded to try and stay awake. When Alfred was finished and had everything loaded, he got into the vehicle and drove them both home.

0-0-0

“Hey Ludwig! Look what I got!” Alfred waved a purple sky lantern in the air, showing the German man as he walked over, beer in hand. Feliciano followed him, eyes bright at the sight of the large square. Ludwig took the paper carefully out of Alfred’s hands and looked it over before giving a satisfied nod of his head.

“Looks good. Thank you. Ah, Happy Birthday.” 

He walked off, Feliciano pulling at his arm and asking him why he liked the lanterns so much after he had also given his birthday wishes. Alfred looked over the crowd of people that had come to his place for his birthday party. He searched for Arthur and found him talking with Francis and Mathew on the porch. Alfred went over to them. 

Francis spotted Alfred first and grinned all sexy like, holding up his cup of wine.

“Joyeux Anniversaire Alfred. Turning twenty two today?”

Alfred smiled, taking a seat on the steps next to Arthur. He put a hand on his knee and squeezed in a hello. Arthur smiled in return.

“Thanks and yes. Big two two, haha!”

Alfred took a glance at his watch and saw that it was almost nine thirty. Time for some fireworks! He stood up and told Francis and Mathew to spread the word that they were going to be having some fun in about twenty minutes. Alfred went to the back of his house to his truck and drove it around to the flat open area that was perfect for a show. He saw the shadows of his friends gathering around.

He lined up the big cakes and racks, setting a shell in each. They were turned in the perfect direction for the best look. After he was done, he took Arthur’s little bag and went over to the crowd. Everyone starting singing happy birthday to him first in English, then in many different languages so everything sounded like a crazy mess of a song. Alfred located Arthur and handed over the bag along with a lighter, smiling like crazy.

“Find Peter and Ravis and do these on that cement in front of the garage. I won’t start without you, don’t worry!” 

Arthur took the bag and went looking for his brother and his friend as Alfred went to go hook up the electric firing system. He found them sitting in some chairs next to Ivan. Peter was trying to touch Ivan’s scarf and the Russian was looking a little pissed. 

“Peter! Stop harassing him. Bring Ravis and follow me.”

Peter frowned but wondered what his brother had for them. He told Ravis to come along and they followed Arthur over to the cement.

“Okay boys. I got a few fireworks just for you. Some hens and roosters, and some sparklers. These will be fun, don’t you think?”

Ravis nodded his head vigorously, eyeing the chickens like they were candy. He had never got to do things like fireworks before. Peter on the other hand had got to do a lot while living with Tino and Berwald. He snatched the lighter from Arthur and demanded that his brother put the chickens down on the ground. Arthur did so with a roll of his eyes and stepped back. 

The fuse lit easily, burning up and with a screech, the hen blew fire from it’s behind. A glowing ember popped out a second later, dying instantly once it touched the ground. Peter complained that it was stupid, but Ravis clapped his hands a few times, big smile adorning his face.

“What else you got Arthur? Gimme something funner than that!”

Arthur huffed, digging in the bag and taking out the sparklers. 

“Please speak properly to me. I thought I taught you better than that,” he grumbled, undoing the plastic wrap and handing each boy a colorful stick. Arthur took the lighter from Peter and made the two stand close, lighting them at the same time. The ends caught fire and it spread up slowly and uneventfully until it touched the tip and set off sparks. Peter whooped and twirled the stick around, laughing. Ravis stared at his, watching the sparks turn to a green flame, then to more sparks. 

Arthur watched the boys, entranced by how much they were enjoying the simple firework. He didn’t even notice when Alfred stepped up beside him until there was a hand on his shoulder. As the sparklers came to a finish Arthur looked at Alfred in the dim lighting. All day he had been busy with making food and calling guests to even wish Alfred a happy birthday. Part of it was that, but the other part was because he wanted to say it with fireworks in the sky, which would make it somehow romantic. Arthur was a sap like that.

“You should have seen it Arthur. I gave those swords to Kiku and Heracles, and guess what happened? Well, Kiku was a little scared at first, but then was okay with it and just held it out like a boss, even though I told him to fight Heracles. That guy on the other hand just sat in a chair the whole time and dropped the sword when it was only halfway done! Talk about lazy. It was fun though! The boys like the stuff you picked out?” 

Arthur took a glance to see if Peter and Ravis were still around, but they had went back to the group of people who were currently getting impatient. 

“They seemed to like the sparklers the best. Peter hated the chickens, Ravis loved them. Still got a smoke stick left, but that is it.”

Alfred nodded, taking the smoke that was handed to him and putting it in his pocket. A few people called his name, telling him to hurry it up. 

“Well, better go give them a show! I hooked it up electronically, so I can sit by you and watch as I shoot them! Pretty cool stuff.”

Arthur and Alfred walked back to were everyone was all bedded down and waiting. Alfred grabbed the firing system along the way to the spot Arthur had picked out. It was a little farther away from the group, but still close enough that they could hear people talking. 

Without warning and a push of the first button, there was a thump, then a pop, followed by a sky full of color. The talking stopped instantly. Alfred pressed button number two and this time three shots came at once, all bursting in the sky, first red then white then blue. Arthur tilted his head back, watching the show. A few more burst and little bees zipped through the air before exploding in flashing crackles. It went on for a while, until Alfred was down to number fifteen. 

“Hey Arthur, wanna shoot one?”

Arthur pulled his head down and looked at the black box with red buttons. Alfred was pointing to number fifteen. With a light press, the firework went off, soaring into the sky before breaking into a huge willow. It hung, looking a little like a golden spider. Alfred continued his pressing and more shots went off.

Arthur took his time admiring the fireworks with everyone else until he noticed that Alfred was almost down to button thirty, the last one. Before Arthur realized it, he had said “Happy Birthday, love.”

Alfred’s finger hovered over number twenty-seven for a few seconds. Then he pushed it down and with a quick tug on Arthur’s arm with his free hand, their faces were close. As the explosives filled the night with color and a loud boom, Arthur pushed his lips to Alfred’s and kissed him sweetly. As the lights faded and smoke drifted, Arthur pulled back. Alfred hesitated on button twenty-eight for a while, tricking everyone into thinking the show was over.

With rapid speed, Alfred pushed all three buttons in a row, surprising the crowd as ten different shots came out and burst randomly, signaling the finale. When it was over there was applauding and whooping and the general craziness from a pleased crowd. The music was turned up and Alfred grinned, standing and taking Arthur with him to the dance floor. 

Tonight couldn't get any better.


End file.
